


Through closed doors

by cured



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Escape is seemingly impossible but does that really bother you?, M/M, Stuck for a long long time, Trapped In Elevator, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-28 18:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13276920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cured/pseuds/cured
Summary: 00:00Everything seems okay00:20Isn't there an emergency call button for these sort of things?3:42Uh, I don't think we're getting out?AU where Keith and Lance end up trapped in an elevator for a really really long time ;)





	1. 00:00

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you guys enjoy. Give me feedback - both good and bad.

_7:20 am_  
Lance already knew that it was just going to be one of those days. After sleeping through 6 alarms, burning his tongue on a cup of tea and bumping his toe twice on the edge of his dresser, he admitted that he had been defeated.

Already dreading what was to come (he had a term paper due - one he had already gotten several extensions on and hadn’t finished yet – and he knew he was going to get some shit from Pidge and Hunk about the group assignment), Lance was optimistic that at least his date tonight would go well enough.

After almost three months of chasing after her, this angel of a woman finally said yes to a date with him. _Just once Lance – please don’t expect too much of it either and don’t organise too much._ Her words were clearly burned into his mind. Yet, despite her warning, the college student had already booked seats at the most expensive dining he could afford and had a bouquet of daffodils in a jug of water on his kitchen counter. He was determined to make the most of this opportunity and knew that if he could woo her, he would have her heart for a long time coming.

On the train, Lance is forced to remain upright, balancing coffee and replying to the group chat with more riddles than solid answers. Pidge, as expected, was acting like a little fire demon, and it felt like Lance was being prodded with a sharp spear right in his ribcage even though she was no where near him. Hunk was a bit calmer, mostly because the poor boy hadn’t had his morning cup of coffee yet.

Reaching into his bag to produce a copy of the poster to take a photo of, Lance curses under his breath. Somehow, the disastrous morning had to involve the leaving behind all his notes for class. It is in this moment where he regrets buying two of the same backpacks, no matter how many of his outfits they matched.

He was going to have to go back. Failing his own class was one thing but if he dragged Hunk or Pidge down, he would be living in his own personal hell.

_7:34 am_

  
“And don't come back here again unless you wear what you’ve been told!” The manager pushes him out of the door, disgusted at his outfit.

It was a simple one – black jeans, a white shirt and tennis shoes – and one he thought was completely appropriate for this line of work. Yet, the manager seemed to believe that the only way one could wait tables was in a button down shirt and black lace up shoes. For the hundredth time this week, Keith acknowledged that he needed to work somewhere better but money was money and it was better than finding himself on the streets again.

Cursing loudly, Keith has to make a choice: either take the metro back to his place, loosing almost an hour for the return trip or going to Shiro’s place and hoping his friend wouldn’t mind his borrowing of clothes.

Opting for the closer option, Keith picked up his pace to the nearby apartment complex. Many college students lived in adjoining flats and he’d spent late nights in the spare room listening to the thumping music coming from the floors below. Even though he had graduated 4 years ago, Shiro hadn’t yet found the time or money to buy something in a slightly better neighbourhood so he spent most of his time at his girlfriend’s place and usually gave Keith freedom to visit whenever he pleased, giving the boy a pair of spare keys _. In case you want to visit when I’m not around._ What Shiro was actually saying was that he didn’t want to sell the place because he wanted Keith to always have a roof over his head and that the open invitation was meant to allow the boy to be reminded that he always had a place here.

Keith sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Grateful didn’t describe how he felt towards a friend who had offered him so much and had always been there for him. It made him feel loved for the first time in a while, and often Keith wished that he could offer more in return.

In the lobby now, Keith presses the button to call down the lift, elegantly gliding in as the door slides open.

15th floor. Glowing as it is pressed, the button states the destination and highlights that the journey upwards is beginning.

“Hold on!!!” The pretty brunette is screaming as he jumps through the closing doors.

He doubles over, his shirt lifting up to reveal some lower back and Keith tears his eyes away to prevent himself from staring.

The boy stands up now and his Poseidon blue eyes meet Keith’s.

“Close call, wasn’t it?” He remarks with a laugh.

The elevator jerks upwards .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know that this isn't the most fantastic chapter and it's kind of rushed because I have ideas for the next few that I'm really looking forward to if you guys stick around to read them. I also wrote the whole chapter out and then lost it (stupid phone saving) so this is version 2
> 
> Everything needs a bit of context I guess


	2. 00:20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because we really need a second chapter today
> 
> Feedback of both the good and bad kind is appreciated 
> 
> More info at the end

_8:34 am_  
“How many more times do I have to say it, pressing the buttons over and over again isn’t going to help us in any way.” Keith growls.

The brunette had turned out to be quite a nuisance after approximately 5 minutes and no matter how beautifully he was sculpted, Keith couldn’t stand people like this. Never shutting up, the boy had done nothing of any use since the moment they both realised that they weren’t moving. He had, of course listed every possible explanation for their standstill, counting it out on his fingers as his voice droned on.

Keith slid to his feet and gently moved past the boy.

“You’ve pressed the emergency call button, right?” He know his voice comes off as dull.

“There isn’t one!” Blue eyes throws his arms around dramatically.

“The one with the bell?” Keith presses the button as he says it and the ring fills the silence for a moment.

“Oh, I didn’t press that one...”

“It literally says _press in case of emergency_ underneath it!”

“I’ve never been trapped in an elevator before, how was I meant to know that?!”

“Through common sense! Something you obviously don’t possess!”

Before another comment can be thrown out, the lights flicker, the elevator jerks and the call cuts out. He presses the button again but this time there is no even the familiar ringing.

Keith curses loudly. Goodbye finances.

 

 _8:41 am_  
“You could at least try to have a conversation with me mullet.” Lance has watched his dark haired companion for a while now and hadn’t gotten much of a reaction from the attractive student.

“I’ve asked you to please stop calling me that.” The edges of his face are hard but soft too.

“You’re the one who’s refusing to tell me his name.” Lance taunts, “ And I would like to know the name of the person who is going to die by my side in this enclosed prison.”

“We’re not going to die in here.”

“No food. No water and soon no air. Goodbye cruel world!”

“If I tell you my name, will you shut up?”

“I don’t think I have an off switch?” Lance ponders, “ At least that’s what Pidge says.”

“Why am I not surprised?” the boy groans, “I’m Keith.”

Keith. The name was unexpected and Lance let it roll around in his head, watching as it took different forms.

“Lance.” He replies, “And what brings you into this wonderful piece of machinery?”

“Are we really going to do this?”

“Yes.”

“A spare change of clothes.”

Lance looks him up and down. The tennis shoes, obviously cheaply made have scuff marks and the soles look worn from constant use. Knees are torn in the black jeans, and pale skin is poking out through the fabric. There is difficulty in telling if they were purchased in that distressed state or if he had just managed to trip over once. The white shirt might be deemed a little tight, but Lance thought it looked hot. Keith was sculpted underneath all that clothing and although he was under the impression that he had already found love with his date tonight, Lance believed that it should be classified as a crime not to admire such beauty when it was placed in front of him.

Keith slides down the wall and sits in the corner and in turn, Lance takes a seat too but not too close. He observes now how small the space is. Maybe 2 meters across if they’re lucky. Not designed to really carry more that 7 or eight people even though the sign says it can hold up to 12.

The surfaces are shiny and reflective like a mirror from waist height up and below, after a small railing on two of the sides, there is cheap linoleum panelling. There is one large, round light in the centre of the roof. Maybe the size of a dinner plate but not much bigger (although he mostly ate out of Chinese Takeout boxes, his experiences of family dinner at Christmas made sure he was clear about those facts). It felt very prison-like, except that instead of bars everything was almost continuous and it seemed like there was no way out.

“So how about you?” Keith asks, “What brings Lance into this lift today?”

“So I have two of the exact same backpacks and –“ He is cut off by Keith’s laugh.

Although he could feel embarrassed, Lance doesn’t because the quiet and deep laughter from Keith is kind and not humiliating. A smile tugs at the corners of the brunette’s mouth and he knows it matches his eyes.

“Why on earth do you have two of the exact same backpack?”

“If I wasn’t so rudely cut off I could have explained.”

“Come on then Lance, continue your story.”

“Anyway, since this is the most stylish backpack in the world, I’ve got two separate ones – a party bag and a school bag so that I don’t have to keep emptying them out and changing stuff over depending on what I do. So this morning, I had a bright moment and I took the wrong backpack with me, and I’ve left everything up in my flat that I need to passing class today.”

“Are you seriously that lazy that you can’t empty out your bags. Or couldn’t you at least get two different ones? Like how often do you fuck this up?”

“Man, you’d be surprised how long that takes. And then you forget stuff. And then you have to go back cause you’ve left you bus pass behind or your fake ID. And like I said: the bag is stylish and I never mess this up.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“Seems like it.”

How did the conversation with Keith flow so easily? The boy, silent at first, had basically given Lance no attention but here they were, already mocking each other.

It made him think about Pidge and Hunk. Lance reckons that they would like him and the way the boy was a bit harsher with Lance.

Caught in his train of thought, Lance has not noticed Keith's grabbing of the backpack. He looks Lance in the eyes for permission to look inside and a quick nod grants it. Keith is curious as to what a 'party bag' entails.

A half empty bottle of vodka.

A toothbrush and toothpaste set stashed into the bottom.

Other small bottles of liquor like the ones you get in a hotel.

Cologne.

And half crushed is a 32 pack of condoms.  
Keith opens it.

“Dude, you’ve used over half of these, what sorts of parties do you go to?” Lance turns quite red.

“In my defence, I’ve had them for quite a while.”

“Sure, loverboy Lance, sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is Keith too forward in this chapter? Too outgoing? I imagine that he is just playing along with Lance for the lols because it is very unlikely for this to happen and he is removing alot of the focus from himself. Advice please. And my apologies for typos. I will be coming back later and fixing them but when I'm not writing on my phone so text is easier to see. Let me know if there are any major problems .
> 
> I've got some good ideas but not for tonight. Time to spice things up a little and bring our boys into something completely different.


	3. 00:57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy. One more cause why not.  
> I love hearing what you guys think so let me know, good or bad
> 
> Temperature in in Celsius

_9:11am_

“Oh my God! Put your shirt back on!”

Lance is standing in the middle of the elevator, stripping himself down because he was ‘warm’. It was not like Keith couldn’t stare at that body for the next few hours but sharing such a confined space with a half naked boy was not how he expected to spend his Friday morning.

“Dude it’s like 50 degrees in here! I’m melting!” Lance stretches up. Keith mentally notes how good his skin seems to gleam under the light. 

“Aren’t you going to join me?” Lance enquires.

“No.” Keith makes it simple for the boy to understand.

“Well then Kogane, I dare you to take your shirt off too.” Lance raises his eyebrows as Keith glares at him, “You’re not going to back down from a challenge, are you?”

Keith slides off his shirt, no matter how body conscious it makes him feel. He reaches up and ties some of his hair into a ponytail at the back of his neck. Looking at his reflection in the lift, he seems tired and dishevelled. Truly, he just wanted to get out of here.

“Okay so now it’s your turn to ask me mullet.”

“Dare?”

“No, truth or dare.”

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“What’s you favourite colour?”  
Lance bursts out laughing and Keith shys away a little, unsure of his choices of question but although he has years in his eyes now, and is holding his stomach, Lance gives his laughter and explanation.

“Out. Of. All. The. Interesting. And. Saucy. Questions. You. Could. Ask. You. Chose. That. One.”

“Just answer the damn question Lance.”

“Blue. It’s blue.”

“Truth.” Chooses Keith.

Lance takes a moment to come up with something that isn’t as dull as Keith's question yet isn’t too strange or awkward to ask a stranger.

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever experienced?”

Keith freezes up instantly and Lance knows that he’s fucked up. Yet he doesn’t understand the extent of that question because honestly, Keith had gone through so much in his life before the last couple years and he is still trying to pick himself back up.  
Because what was the worst moment?

The day his parents were stripped from him? The first of the foster parents were the nicest because they really wanted to raise a small boy. Yet, like everyone after them, they would be unable to handle Keith and the burden that came with a child who had been scarred by something like that. No amount of birthday cake and comforting can ever erase something like that.

The first night he had spent on the streets at 15? Drugs and random people’s couches were common after that. For a while, he though he would never get out of the cycle he had fallen into to. One where he was just scum. He tried though. He attended public school during the day and at night tried to earn some money from working scrubbing pots. At 18, the college acceptance letter seemed like an escape yet although he had scored well, the scholarship given to him didn’t make him feel accepted in the community. People there were rich and had houses. Keith lived with a dude called Louis who sold cocaine. So he put it on hold.

But no, those weren’t the hardest experiences.

Shiro.

The night he met Shiro was the hardest. Louis had been upstairs fighting with his girlfriend so Keith went outside for a quick smoke while he wanted for then to sort their shit out. 

He hadn’t seen it coming. The black motorcycle sped down the road and then the silver car came out of nowhere. The rider went flying and his piercing scream filled the air. Keith had frozen and then he had ran to where the man was lying on the ground.  
There was so much blood that Keith had to stop himself from throwing up. The man’s face was contorted in an expression of pure pain. The helmet he had been wearing might have protected his skull but it didn’t stop the large gash from forming over him face.

And his arm. That was the worst part. It was completely mangled, hanging in my a thread. By now and by the grace of God, the rider had passed out so he could have escaped the pain. 

Keith found his phone and with shaky hands dialled the emergency number. Within minutes he was sitting in the back of the ambulance, watching as paramedics tried to save the life of a stranger. 

Waiting in the hospital foyer, he was provided with a pair of clothes that weren’t blood soaked and an update that the man – Shiro – was in a stable condition. 

And then it had hit Keith – hard. He had actually made a difference in someone’s life for once and he understood now that he had a purpose and that he could do this more. Keith felt useful and that was new. 

Later, Shiro would offer Keith a place in his apartment and in his life so that the kid could pull himself back together. Shiro became both a brother and a father figure. Keith pulled himself back together because he told himself he had to do it for shiro. 

If Shiro could get through loosing his arm and if he could get through taking a cocktail of pain medications each day, then Keith could pull himself back together. There missions were separate but intertwined.

So Shiro.

That was the hardest thing that happened to him.

But he would never say that. Not to a stranger.

 _9:28 am_  
It was in that moment that Lance had recognised his stuff up. The boy beside him had from. Completely frozen and were those tears in his eyes?

Fuck.

He was going to have to do something and fast.

He cleared his throat. 

“Um you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“nah, it’s okay. I was just thinking. I guess that one time in 5th grade were I broke my arm after jumping off the top of some playground equipment. I wasn’t allowed to go outside at lunch again for several weeks.”

Lies. 

And they both knew it.

“So what do you choose Lance?” Keith runs his hands through his hair.

“Truth I guess.”

“What is your favourite type of soup?”  
Lance would mock such a stupid question again but the atmosphere was not right for thst.

“Tomato.”

Keith nods his head in acknowledgement. 

“Tomato is good I guess.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

Lance sighs.

“Ask me a question Lance..” Keith’s voice is quiet but Lance hears it any way.

“Do you go to college, Kogane?”

“Not really. I went for a while but it wasn’t for me.”

“What did you study?”

“I was in engineering for some time and then I transferred to physics. I didn’t really like the atmosphere though. How about you Lance, are you an arts major?” Keith asks mockingly.

“Oi! Arts is wonderful and creative and yes I’m an art major. Poetry to be precise.”

“Give me your best work oh wonderful poet.”

“Roses are red , violets are blue. Keith Kogane, fuck you.”

Keith laughs and places his hand on Lance’s thigh.

“I hope you submit that as your assignment.”

“Yeah, well it’s better than what I actually have for my class.”

Keith laughs and Lance leans into him slightly because it just feels natural. 

“What does one even do with a poetry major?”

Lance looks his lips.

“Well mullet, you’d be surprised.”

“Come on.”

“Fine. Maybe not that much but I enjoy it. And I guess that’s what matters.”

Lance had chosen poetry because he had felt deep down that it would give him a voice he didn’t have. In a large family and as the child who was never the best at anything, he wanted to share his voice in the only way he knew. Art had given him a passion and late at night he would sit behind his screen and type poems when he felt truly inspired. It was a voice and a power and he was able to share everything about him in riddles and tears.  
But he’d never tell a stranger that. No matter how beautiful he was and how comforting his presence felt.

 _10:07_  
“Its your turn.” Lance breaks the silence.

  
“Huh?”

  
“Truth or dare Keith?”

  
“Dare?”

  
“I dare you to kiss me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aghh  
> Haha  
> I have to end it there  
> I hope you guys like it  
> 


	4. 01:56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because who can leave this on a cliff hanger?
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much as I love writing

_10:10 am_  
He tasted like almonds and coffee and whatever lip balm he used made his lips so soft. Keith couldn’t pull himself away, tangling his fingers in Lance’s hair. Wanting to press his body against the boy’s, Keith has to restrain himself and it is Lance who pulls away first.

He looks into the ocean coloured eyes of the boy his lips just met and Keith is unsure what to make of it. Lance seems shocked, almost as if he didn’t actually want to kiss Keith.

“Dude, You’re either the most chill straight dude I’ve ever met or you’re really into guys.”

 _And you’re not?_ Keith’s eyes seem to as, _you literally just dared me to kiss you._

“IHaveAGirlfriend.” Lance blurts out.

Keith’s face contorts.

Fuck.

He stands up so that he does not have to face the boy and grabs his shirt from the ground, pulling it over his head.

He slams his fist on the door.

 _Let me out,_ his mind screams but what Lance hears coming out of his mouth is a range of obscenities.

 

 _10:18 am_  
Why the fuck did you say that Lance?

Shit.

 

 _10:21 am_  
Of course someone like that was straight or at the bare minimum he was bi but he had a girlfriend.

The kiss was a joke.

What had Keith been thinking.

 

 _10:22_ _am_  
Keith had tasted like cigarettes and smelt like cheap cologne and Lance had liked it even though it was nothing like he had ever experienced before.

It was not like Lance hadn’t kissed guys before. He had on several occasions yet Keith was different. The good kind. He had taken control and had been rough and soft at the same time. Their lips had fit together perfectly.

Lance had wanted to keep going.

Yet he had stopped and then broke Keith’s heart.

Now the boy was as far away as physically possible, his head twisted in the opposite direction and loud music pouring through his headphones and all Lance wanted to do was grab him by the shoulders and pin him to the ground.

He wanted to take it back and do it all over again.

He wanted more of Keith.

But looking at him now, he was sure Keith wanted to get as physically far away as possible.

 

 _10:26 am_  
Was it actually possible to feel this sick and disgusted in yourself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aghhh  
> The feels are real. I don't know what to do from here. Advice guys?


	5. Elsewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the people who are helping make this better. If you guys are just reading this new chapter now, I recommend going back to chapter 3 and scanning over it again as there have been some changes

**meanwhile**

_10:14 am_

DON’T ANSWER THIS CHAT GROUPCHAT

  
_Pigdgeon is online_  
P: Yo lance, are you alive ?  
P: seriously class started two hours ago  
P: I swear to god lance if you’re skipping to avoid handing in the assignment, I will murder you

 

_Hunkyhunk12 is online_   
H: Lance isn’t in class?  
P: yeh  
P: probably wagging. I can’t reach his cell  
H: give me a sec and I’ll try

 

H: straight to voicemail  
H: what did you tell professor Allura  
P: nothing yet  
P: she’s staring at me from across the room  
P: she knows  
P: she literally knows that we have nothing to hand in  
H: it’s not due till tonight  
P: yeh but you know Lance  
P: he’s not going to do it at all now  
H: he probably overslept  
H: I’m going to go by his place on my way to school  
P: k

 

 _10:45 am_  
H: still not picking up  
H: been buzzing his apartment to let me in but he isn’t even opening the front door  
P: I swear to god when I find him...  
H: I’ll give Coran a call to let me in  
P: yeh  
P: you do that  
P: and make sure that the idiot knows the power of my wrath  
H: pidge this is your poetry elective, it doesn’t matter if you have one bad grade  
P: I thought you had higher standards than just passing  
H: I just have hope that Lance did something  
P: one line hunk  
P: he wrote one line  
P: and to quote ‘Poetry is a form of self expression’  
P: Matt could have written that  
P: and all Matt knows is numbers  
H: you and your brother have a lot in common

  
**Elsewhere**

  
Shiro had spent the morning climbing up and down the stairs to his apartment after learning that the power in the building had dropped out.

  
He prided himself in his fitness yet this was more than even he could endure. He found himself lugging down the boxes of files under his good arm and stopping often to put them down, replying to the messages that Allura was sending under her desk as she waited for her class to complete some or the other paper. Every time her photo and name lit up the screen, he found himself smiling. He was going to marry that girl when he had the chance; well when he had enough money that he could offer her a comfortable life.  
Several times, people had passed him and offered to help but he refused. It was not as if he was useless and he didn’t like to admit that since the accident it had been harder for him to complete basic tasks. People often thought he had been in the war, and often felt sorry for him or felt like they owed him something. Two years on and it was like it was still the first day. He hadn’t felt whole again and he was looked upon with either pity or intense staring as if he was some freak.

  
He didn’t really remember that night . He only remembered what he was told in stores afterwards. And he remembered the pain and the sound of his screams and the feeling of flying. Keith's face too was burned into his mind, even though it was blurry as he had passed into darkness. They never caught the driver of the other vehicle. The man had gone through red and had then run to hide from his actions. It was cowardly, but Shiro felt like there was no point hunting him down . What was done was done and he was better off putting his time in solving more serious crimes, ones where lives weren’t spared.

  
First there was his job: as a detective he was out in the field and often used both hands to drive or to sort through case files and take photos. He was moved to a desk pretty quickly and for a while he was on basic work while the drugs still messed with his head. By the time he convinced them to let him back into his usual placement, he had learned to seem confident and okay. If he seemed that way, people often left him alone and thought that he could handle himself.  
Shiro was quite a large man, with bulky shoulders and a square jawline so as a detective, he was the type of person who criminals feared. People in his department often joked that he could defend the universe by himself. Shiro just wanted to give his all to what he did.

  
But here he was, wondering why today out of all days, this had to be an issue. He had called in to let his office know why he was taking longer than expected and then continued to carry down the crates. He considered often leaving the rest till tomorrow, but then reminded himself that he didn’t Know when the electricity would come back up.

  
Today Shiro was finally getting an office all to himself again. No more setting up paperwork in the spare room that used to belong to Keith. Now, instead of working nights at home when the music was thumping, he could sit in a comfortable desk chair whilst drinking cup after cup of coffee. People would have to knock on the door to visit him and they’d sit across from him as they hurriedly discussed their findings with their leader. He looked forward to that.

  
He hadn’t told Keith yet, but he knew how excited the boy he had begun to know as his younger brother would be. Keith would want to sit in the room with Shiro late at night and help him pick up on things in the cases his was working on. It wad like a game to Keith and Shiro understood it put his intelligence to good use.

  
For a while now, he had been urging his brother to reapply to school and to try to get his degree so that he could do something that he actually loved instead of working long hours for minimal wage. But Keith had said time and time again that he wasn’t ready and that he would so it at some point. Just not now. Secretly, Shiro had been shoving brochures into novels he knew that Keith read often in an attempt to have the boy consider it.

  
Loading the last of the boxes in his car, Shiro slams the boot closed.

  
He tries to call Keith but when it goes to voicemail, he messages instead. The kid is probably working. Shiro smiled – the boy had turned his life around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd try a texting format  
> It's nice to hear Shiro' s voice and to break away from the romance for a while. Opinions?


	6. 02:47

_11:01 am_  
They had been sitting in an awkward silence for almost an hour. Lance had been keeping track of time, pressing the power button on his phone every couple of minutes. It was if he was hoping that time was magically travelling at a super speed or that maybe he finally had service to call someone.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, wondering how long it takes to get lifts working again ( isn’t there some sort of protocol). Blowing air through his nose in frustration, he is attempting to muffle any sound that sounds like a sigh.

Pressure was beginning to form in his head – maybe from the lack of water, being forced into an enclosed space for so long or from coming down from the high his third cup of coffee usually offered him at this time of morning.

Lance had always been a kid who was into horror movies. Well not quite, but his older brothers would sit in their shared bedroom and watch them late at night so Lance knew the consequences to trying to escape from this prison. He was not being electrocuted or sliced in half or falling to his death.

Being stuck in here reminded him of the time his family had a small shed in their yard. His mother had been out that day with his younger sister, so he had to hang out with his brothers who were tasked with watching over the 7 year old boy. The 15 and 16 year olds were never one to listen to what their mother said, so in an attempt to still go out and see their friends, they locked Lance in the shed. They had told the child that it was for a special game but it was their mother who found him 5 hours later, shirt soaked from his tears.

Lance understood now that it was all training for this day. It was a journey that would lead him to be prepared to be stuck here for days on end.

He scoffed under his breath.

Who was he kidding?

 

 _11:12 am_  
Keith was hungry and thirsty and he needed to use the restroom. He was angry too, and tired and he just wanted to get out of here.

This was one of the most uncomfortable and socially awkward situations that the boy had been in. Usually, Keith was more reserved and for good reason. Being gay in a society filled with people who were highly against it was extremely hard. Shiro had come to accept it, but he knew that other people still saw the boy as different and some sort of freak if he told then about it.

Note to self, don’t be openly gay around Shiro’s parents and definitely don't make any mention of your boyfriend. He had quickly removed that image of him from their world and changed to be a straight dude. Not fundamentally but he pretended the best he could so that when they sat around the dinner table together, Keith was not murdered with glares.

When he was younger, he was always afraid of his sexuality. Once, he was put with a family whose religion saw Keith's gender preferences as a sin a and who taught the young boy that he could change himself. Keith tried his best to become what he believed was something other than something the devil had made. It tool him years to feel accepted and took countless laws passing to feel as if he was who he was meant to be. Now, although Keith wasn’t really open about it, he was proud to be who he was and if asked he would always be truthful. He understood the way it appeared to some people but it was simple: if you didn’t like Keith for who he was, you weren’t the type of person that he wanted around anyway.

Now he would be a laughing stock. Lance had mentioned his friends before and he knew that Lance was the kind of person to tell stories loudly in bars when he had too much liquor in him.

But the question was why did Keith even do it? Keith was a reserved guy and had trouble making long lasting friends due to trust issues. And here he was, kissing a stranger without question and yeah, he was a beautiful stranger, but that was no excuse. Keith was better than that and honestly, he didn’t really like the guy’s loud voice (No matter how cute the words coming out of it was) and that laugh, he despised it (because it reminded him of a good childhood friend of his who Keith had had to leave when he changed houses again).

Lance wasn’t bad a person or a bad guy in fact. Lance had just fucked Keith over. Stupid, stupid Keith. He should have known better.

Keith turned up his music player slightly, allowing the heavy music to push all other thoughts out of his head.

 

 _11:40 am_  
Lance really hoped that Keith was jumping up and down suddenly because otherwise the shaking would not be a good sign.  
A quick look at his companion confirmed that Keith was in fact not jumping, instead the boy was just waking up from a sort of dazed state.

The lights flicker.

Keith curses and rises to his feet.

“I swear to god lance if this is one of your games, I will murder you!” his eyes are like dagger.

“Why on earth would I do this!”

As the cabin jerks, Lance has to hold onto the railing. Stumbling, he has never felt this uncertain on his feet before. For a moment, the cabin is engulfed in darkness, but some emergency lights flick on and the pair is emerged in a faint glow that reminds Lance of the halls of a strange place at night time when the room is only bathed in the light of the street.

A sigh of relief escapes him as if this was all over. But like always, the worst is yet to come.

Suddenly the floor seems to drop underneath them and they are rushing through the air.  
Is it him screaming or Keith? Lance says and little prayer and squeezes his eyes shut. He hopes it’s the sort of end that comes quickly and that darkness doesn’t hesitate. He has never been afraid of death but maybe that’s because he never expected that it would end in such a way.

But then they come to an abrupt atop and the inertia causes Lance to jerk away from the bar and fall onto the ground. He bangs his elbow and the pain shoots up his whole arm. Quickly checking, he notes that nothing is broken or extremely damaged. A couple of bruises would form there later, blues and purple merging together into greens.

He pulls himself into a seated position and looks at Keith who seems to be okay too, just slightly shocked.

Keith drops to the ground and gives off a laugh in his relief.

Then lance is laughing too and they just keep going and going, even past the point of their stomachs hurting.

Living is something to be happy about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say this time. I like this lack of dialogue. It feels more like what I normally write. 
> 
> Feel free to drop your opinions here, good and bad  
> Special thanks has to go to TakingOverMidnight3482 for all their assistance in my writing of this. It's really appreciated- go check out some of their work 
> 
> Have a good day :)


	7. 03:34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are a tornado and bring destruction but I still love you my dear angel

_11:48 am_  
“It’s lunchtime!” Lance declares loudly.

  
“Seriously? We almost died and you’re thinking about lunch?!”

  
Although Lance was slightly hungry, he was mostly just trying to make conversation with Keith. Wanting to apologise, he realised first that he needed to make sure that Keith was open to listening to what he had to say.

  
He wanted to reach out and brush the loose strands of hair out of Keith’s face for the sheer purpose of preventing his eyes from being blocked. Lance liked the way the dark colours seemed to have hidden depth.

  
The burning desire within him wasn’t strong – not yet anyway – and sexual attraction wasn’t everything anyway. Just because he wanted to stare into the boy’s eyes instead of fucking him senseless didn’t mean that there was nothing there for Lance. Lance was the type of guy who flirted often and found himself attracted to a range of men and women, and he would wake up the next morning in their beds with minimal memories of who they were. Sometimes, he would cause after a specific person for a while , hoping they would show him interest and he would allow a more emotional attraction to form between them.

  
It was not as if lance liked to sleep around or anything like that. He liked bodies and touches and the closeness. Yes, that was it, he liked the comfort of another human soul intertwined with his. It was so personal and so fresh and there was nothing hidden anymore. People from all walks of life were out there on display just for him and he wanted to explore them all. Explore all the scars and the stories and the scents that proved where they had been.

  
Maybe he would be able to see a galaxy within Keith, one that no one else has seen.

  
“I just want to say that I’m sorry for earlier mullet.” He says it quietly but in such an isolated space it still comes across as loud.

  
“I don’t want to talk about it Lance.”

  
“Dude, please let me explain.”

  
“I don't want to hear some half assed excuses just cause you feel guilty now.”

  
“They’re not excuses Keith.”

  
“Why the fuck would you ask me to kiss you if you’re in a relationship with a girl!” he snaps loudly and Lance flinches, “you come in here, all confident in yourself, you lean into me and you’re fucking gorgeous and I know that you know it and then you ask me to kiss you like it’s no big deal. And I swear Lance you kissed me back and then you go on like I’m crazy and it was all a joke or something and you were just messing with me!”

  
“I didn’t think you were gay.”

  
“And that makes it better?”

  
“I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

  
“Why did you even ask Lance?”

  
“because I like you.”

  
Keith snorts at that one and rubs his hands through his hair. He crosses his arms over his knees and gives Lance a look right into his eyes that the blue eyed boy can’t break away from.

  
“You don’t know a single thing about me.”

  
That hurts. It’s a piercing blow to his chest like Keith has just pushed him as far away as possible. He want to reach out and touch his companion but is fearful that his fingers will just pass through thin air and everything will disappear around him.

  
“Then let me learn. Tell me stuff about you; what you like to listen to, where you work, about your family. Anything! We’re trapped in a fucking elevator for God’s sake! We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

  
“You’re not worth the effort it would take to do that.”

  
“Keith...”

  
“Look Lance, I’ve tried to make it clear. I’m not interested anymore, okay? You have a girlfriend and you obviously think it’s okay to cheat on her. You’re into arts! Who the fuck is into arts! Just admit it Lance, you’re bored and you want to be entertained and I’m just the only tool available to you right now. Trust me, the instant that we get out of here you’ll find someone else to prey on.”

  
Well fuck. Good one lance.

 

_12:27pm_  
Keith was angry. Angry at himself and at lance and at the world. And Lance was handsome as fuck and Keith could swear those were tears in his eyes as he twisted his head away.

  
Observing Lance, he watches the boy check his phone a couple times in the dim light. His square nails were cut short and the thumb on his right hand had some light scarring. Keith could imagine his fingers curled up in those.  
If only the girlfriend hadn’t existed.

  
But she did.

  
Keith vowed that he was never going to take elevators with strange guys again and that he certainly wouldn’t engage with any as beautiful as lance. Better to remain in one piece and to find partners in gay bars. People like Lance were only there to make you feel comfortable and then tear up your world in the beautiful storm that they left behind.

  
In their arms, you were in the eye of the storm and protected from harm but storms moved on and went to new places and once you escaped the safety they offered, they would leave you in the ruins of their love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well fuck. I feel like this writes itself and I can't control the words that come to me.
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think and feel


	8. Elsewhere 0.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another outer perspective chapter.  
> Enjoy and let me know what you guys think :)

_11:24am_  
DON’T ANSWER THIS CHAT GROUPCHAT  
_Hunkyhunk12 is online_  
H: we may have a bit of a problem  
Pidgeon is online  
P: please do not tell me that he ran away  
H: no  
H: I don’t think so  
H: so Coran rocked up  
H: and his mystical landlord abilities determined that there was a power outage  
P: and this is an excuse for Lance not being here how?  
H: the lift is stuck  
P: dude he has two legs and is super fit, he can take the stairs  
H: no, like it’s stuck with people inside  
P: wait, so you’re telling me that Lance is trapped inside of an elevator?  
H: yeh  
P: how long for now?  
H: just over 3 hours  
P: well that’s just our luck  
P: think there’s any chance he’s doing the paper while he is stuck there?  
P: actually who am I kidding  
H: main problem is they don’t know what’s causing the outage so it might be stuck there for a while longer  
P: use your engine skills or something and save our boy  
H: yeh  
H: I’m gonna try  
H: coran's going to give me a look in the back rooms and we will see what he can figure out  
P: he’s probably loosing his mind up there  
H: have you ever known lance to get bored? He’s probably entertaining himself just fine  
P: true  
P: want anything from the deli?  
H: a sandwich with ham and olives would be great

P: I’m going to pick up something for Lance too, he’s probably hungry  
P: maybe I can get a pass to come out of class and help you  
P: our friend is in need of rescuing 

 

 **Meanwhile**  
Shiro liked to stop over at the cafe for lunch on the days that Keith was working just so that he could see the kid in action. Well, honesty he just enjoyed the pasta and Keith was an added bonus. Today was no different.

Yet, the moment Shiro entered he was met by a very angry woman who was obviously on her last straw.

“I’ve had it with your boy. I don’t care how important he is to you Shiro, he can’t work here any longer!” Shiro was afraid of this woman, even though a man like him was afraid of no one.

“What’s the problem this time?” _seriously Keith, can’t you just behave for one shift?_

“First, that kid had such a lack of decency that he showed up in the wrong clothes, again. Then, I send him off to get changed and he doesn’t even come back! I have people coming in here every day asking to work here and I tell them no but you know what, any lowlife would be better than keeping your fool of a friend hired any longer!”

She throws her hands up in the air in a display of disgust and when Shiro takes in his surroundings, people who were staring at the spectacle advert their eyes. He was used to people staring though, so he just held his head up high and keep walking.

He was going to have to find Keith and fast. If the boy hadn’t come back, something back must have happened. Things run through his head: maybe Keith was on a really delayed train to his apartment or maybe he had just decided it was not worth coming back or maybe he had been in an accident.

Dialling his brother, Shiro only manages to reach voicemail and the detective swears under his breath. Keith often kept his phone turned off or on silent when he was by himself and even if it did manage to ring through, the probability that he would pick up was low. Shiro sends him a message instead. Those normally get through faster.

Clambering into his car, Shiro turns on the gas and heads towards Keith's place, tuning into the radio to listen out for anything that night indicate at Keith was not okay. The drive takes maybe twenty minutes, the boy lives on the edge of the city where skyscrapers transform into smaller apartment complexes. Keith’s one in a dull whitish grey with evenly spaced rectangular windows and five levels, each containing a wiry balcony.

Shiro has the spare keys and lets himself in. He takes the stairs here because although he’s had his fair share of those today, they are the only option in this place.

The door number on Keith's door is half missing and the name on the placecard under the doorbell has his name written on it in his shaky handwriting.

Coughing as he enters, Shiro goes straight to the small living room to throw open a window. Relief arrives the instant the fresh air rushes into the chamber. He throws a blanket that has found it’s way onto the floor back onto the couch and tells himself that he needs to remind Keith to open windows in here when he smokes.

The rest of the place is scoured within an instant: there is only a cramped kitchen/dining area and a bedroom with an attached bathroom. Keith is not here and obviously hasn’t been since this morning. The mug he always uses is on the counter and the drink inside it is cold, plus he turned the heater off and this place has no insulation, so of he was around he would be freezing.

Shiro heads back to his own place now. He hadn’t seen Keith when he was there earlier this morning, but there was a possibility that the boy was there now or that there was a note on the fridge that he hasn’t seen yet.  
With the power still out, Shiro climbs the 15 flights of stairs once more and then looks through his apartment for any sign of the boy. There’s nothing.

On this way our Shiro runs into the bright haired man who was Shiro’s landlord. Coran plays with his moustache for a moment, greeting Shiro with enthusiasm.

“Seen Keith by any chance?” Shiro asks him.

“The young lad with the hair? Not particularly. Missing, is he?”

“Yeah he’s been gone for a bit. Left work this morning and I can’t reach him now.”

“Would you say he went missing about four hours ago?” Shiro thinks for a moment.

“Yeah, probably.” The detective replies.

“Ah! Well then I might have found your missing friend. The lift is jammed with people inside. Gonna be a while before we can get them down but I’m sure that when we do, we will find your Keith.”

Shiro thanks the man and goes to sit in the foyer while he waits for the situation to sort itself out. He calls his work to let them know that he has a personal matter to sort our for a few hours. Hopefully, Keith was okay up there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this. I think I'm going to slowly start wrapping this up. I feel like there is only so much I can do with this.


	9. 04:51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter as we finally begin to draw to a close. I wanted to study Keith closer and this is more to my usual writing style.
> 
> If you guys enjoyed Shiro's background not he earlier chapters, I am going to write a piece focusing on him, none of the romance stuff, so keep your eyes peeled for that

_1:05pm_  
What was one meant to do in the presence of so much silence? Except for the drill of something on one of the higher floors, not a single sound could be heard within the elevator. 

Lance was tired and had a headache and was at the point where he just wanted to get out. With very passing second the four walls seemed to enclose tighter and tighter around him. What had seemed like ample space mere moments was now just a death sentence.

Lance hadn’t messed up this badly before and didn’t understand why Keith had acted out like that. He would never understand people like Keith; people who didn’t give others a chance to explain themselves properly. They were his breaking point and the only sorts of people he tried to avoid.

There is a slight moan and he notices the way Keith’s head is bobbing up and down and the way his eyes flutter open as he tries to fall asleep but he is so entirely uncomfortable. 

Lance doesn’t try to make it obvious but he edges closer to the boy, to the point where Keith is able to lean his head against him. Keith is either so out of it or can’t be fucked to fight anymore that he gives into the comfort of lance’s body and rests his head on the blue eyed boy’s shoulder.

Within minutes Keith is asleep.

 _His hair is so soft._ The feeling of it against Lance's neck makes lance lean a little closer to Keith. He notices now the lighter curled in the boy's hand and the pack of cigarettes sticking out of his pocket. A filthy habit, Lance had an uncle that had died as a result of a pack just like that. How many did Keith smoke a day? One, five, a packet? 

Lance carefully reaches forward and pulls them out, sliding them into his own bag. Keith didn’t really need them. Maybe he'd be angry when he woke up and they were gone but it would be worth it. Especially if it stopped even one of them reaching those perfect lips.

Admiring the boy, Lance can’t help but to notice his arms. There were so many scars. He hadn’t seen them before because of the way Keith had been sitting And it was obvious now that he had been trying to hide them subconsciously.

There were many lines; scars that just came from simple things like falling of bikes and those that Lance knew were more serious. Pin prick marks from shooting up that were in the nook of his elbow and self harm scars that were thicker and more obvious. There were marks were still lit cigarettes had been pushed against him and a very obvious burn mark on his inner wrist. 

Most were faded now, not anymore an angry and twisting red so they matched the tone of his skin almost perfectly yet they were still raised and seemed ugly against the perfection of the rest of him. 

On his shoulder, Keith had the tattoo of intertwining koi fish, symbolizing the courage he would have to find in able to come over the adversity that had plagued his life.

It was in that moment that Lance decided he was going to learn more about Keith, no matter what the other boy wanted. Lance wanted to hear the stories and learn how he got to this place now. He wanted to ask questions and be interested and make a friend. And then, if Keith left him, he wanted to be a permanent factor in the other boy’s life.

 

 _1:12 pm_  
Keith couldn’t remember the last time he was comfortable enough to just let his walls down in front of someone and sleep. 

The lack of air must be getting to his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this. Let me know what you think!!


	10. 05:37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are slowly finding the end of this. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has left love for it so far: whether it is a kudos or a comment, it is nice to see that people like what I'm writing.

_1:51pm_

The movement of the lift jerking work Keith up. Rubbing his eyes, he notices how Lance has become curled up around him.   
And how he has curled up around Lance, limbs intertwined, chests pressed close together and their warmth formed into a single entity.

He shoves the boy away hastily and he watches as Lance's upper body hits the ground. Lance wakes up in perfect time for the lights to brighten up again and a bell to ding. He blinks slowly as his eyes come back into focus and Keith has to stop himself from staring at the dazed boy.

Keith thanks the world under his breath as he gets up and hits the button for the ground floor and it lights up under his touch. The orange glow of familiarity is comforting and welcomed by the pair.q The machine hums to life and they slowly head downwards.

“Well it’s been a pleasure my friend, but I think it’s time I head off.” Lance places his hand on Keith's shoulders.

The instant the door opens, Keith gets out in relief. A short blonde person and a tall, wide guy with a bandana in his hair push past him and engulf Lance in a group hug, checking that he is alright. Keith hears him brush off the experience like it was nothing and then hears some jokes being spread amongst the group. Their laughter is loud and cheerful and Keith has to hide the smile that is forming on his lips just from being in their presence.

He rolls his shoulders back to release the tension that has formed within them. It feels nice to be able to walk around again, like it is after you get out of an airplane.

Shiro is sitting there is the lobby and comes forth to engulf his friend in a hug. Keith allows himself to hug his brother back. The detective messes up Keith’s hair as they stand there. To onlookers, it is a reunion of siblings, between them, it is the vow to protect each other that has always remained silent.

“Feeling okay?” the older one asks.

“I’m fine.” Shiro raises his eyebrows and then looks over Keith’s shoulders towards where Lance is standing.

Keith doesn’t turn around to face Lance but he can hear the boy’s voice. Shiro can read him well enough to tell that there are unsaid words between them. 

“Tell me about it later.” Shiro murders under his breath, “For now, let’s get some food in you and stop by your work.”

Keith follows his brother, only looking back at Lance once.

He looks so beautiful when he laughs like that in the arms of his friends.

_2:34pm_  
“And you messed it up?” Pidge asks.

“I didn’t mean to and it doesn’t matter.” Lance is spread over the lounge room floor finishing the group assignment (finally). 

“The way you’re talking about it now makes it seem like it matters.” 

“It doesn’t matter. And anyway, I have a girlfriend who I am going out on a lovely date with tonight.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend, Lance.”

Honestly, neither Hunk nor Pidge liked the preppy blonde girl that Lance was chasing. She didn’t care about him, and felt like seeing their friend was more of an obligation than something she really wanted to do. They were wondering when their flirtatious buddy would realise it. 

Hopefully soon.

“The thing is, I don’t know many people like him. Like normally everyone is all over my amazing charms.” He winks towards his friends who groan, “But like he was very rude and hit right were it hurt, you know? It was like the worst heartbreak ever without even falling in love. Like a friend heartbreak. But like, could we even be friends?”

“Why don’t you call him?”

“I don’t have his number.”

“You spent over five and a half elevators with – And I quote – ‘The cutest and most interesting guy that you’ve seen in your life’ and you didn’t get his number?”

“We were fighting the whole time! It was not like I could just say ‘hey Keith I know you hate me but you’re super interesting and I’d like to see you again so could you give me your number?’ He would have probably smacked me senseless and gotten a restraining order!”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Pidge pushes her glasses back up her nose as she enquires this.

“Maybe he could ask that detective guy? You know the tall one with the funky arm?” Hunk chimes in, “They seem like they’re brothers or something.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Lance says as he starts to zone out of the conversation and figure out what to do with his life.

 

_3:15pm_  
“And he just made me angry, Shiro, so angry.” Keith throws his arms around as he explains,

“Like what the actual fuck was he doing! He just plays around with my emotions and then expects and apology like it’s nothing.”

“You like him, don’t you?” Shiro smirks as he leans back in his chair, arms crossed.

“He may have been beautiful and comfortable and made me feel okay but no, I don’t like him. He’s loud and obnoxious and he thinks he is the centrepiece of this massive game he is playing.”

“So it’s love then?” Keith blushes.

“No, of course not. I just wish he hadn’t done that.”

“Give him a chance, Keith, if you actually like him apart from that. People make mistakes. Hell, I’ve done worse things than that and if no one forgave me for them, I’d be stuck here with no jobs and no friends.” He knew some of the incidents Shiro was talking about: the man had been through a bunch of shit after the accident, and often, the results had not been pretty.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Well what’s the worst that will happen if you try?”

_I will find myself broken into a million pieces again and this time, it won’t be fixable._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of there now. The chapter is drawing to a close and so is the time. I think there will be about 2 chapters (one might end up being like an epilogue) left after this, and I have a feeling that they might be longer in length. Be excited. The end it coming.


	11. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. The next part will be an epilogue which won't be that long but it will be a nice tie in. If you're happy with this ending, you don't need to read the last part, but it will be nice to have a bit more.
> 
> This chapter is way longer and wow over 10000 words.

Lance takes a sip of his drink and watches her smile. She has some of the best posture he has seen in a while but it feels like she is looking down upon him. Not speaking much, the girl just nods and laughs when it’s appropriate, which is okay with Lance though as he can talk for hours without a clear topic.

She drinks too, maybe a bit too much but Lance doesn’t say anything. At the end of the evening he pays for the check all by himself even though it’s two weeks worth of wages and he knows he should have asked to split the bill. He reminds himself that it’s for a good cause and he was a gentleman and it was expected of him.

They take her car back to her place. Lance drives, because while she drunk glass after glass of wine, he only had cola. She has a newer car, which is to be expected when she comes from a rich family. She hands him the keys without hesitation, and opens the window on her side so fresh air streams through the car as they rush forward.

He parks the car a little bit away from her place so that they have to walk a bit further. They link arms and she sways just a little as they walk.

At the front door, she places her keys in and unlocks the door, using her hand to gesture for him to come inside. He steps into the grand hallway and the door slams behind them, echoing through the house. It’s like a mansion on the edge of the city, and with multiple floors, it shows the true wealth of the family. 

She twists so that she is up close to lance, her mouth only inches from his. He can feel the warmth of her breath.

“My parents are away, so we have the whole place to ourselves.” She whispers into his ear and they are pressed up against the wall.  
He closes the gap between them because that’s what he wanted all along, wasn’t it?

This girl he was about to kiss was why he fucked it up with Keith.

When they finally lock lips, Lance immediately feels like it’s all wrong, as if two pieces of separate puzzles were shoved into place. She is greedy and hungry and it is as if she is trying to devour him. And was that her hands on his pants button?

He twists his head away and moves out of the reach of her grasp. It didn’t feel right and you should never do anything like this if you didn’t want to. 

The blonde gives him a strange look. 

“It’s alright, Lance.” She purrs, “I know you want this and you can have it all.”

It was in that moment that he thought of Keith again; the way the boy tasted and sounded and how he had taken control but not in a way of greed or desperation but of kindness. He wanted more simple kisses from Keith that didn’t end in the desire for sex. 

This girl in front of him didn’t like him for him. She liked him for his body and the cheap thrill she would get tonight if he stayed. She hadn’t even really liked him. He was after her for months and she kept turning him down and was never interested in anything he had to say.

So why was he here with her when Keith was out there?

“I’m sorry but I have to go.” He says and he reaches for the door.

“Seriously? All this effort and you couldn’t even follow through?”

“It was never about sex. I want to get to know you and not your body. I think it’s best that you find someone who is only after sex if that’s all you’re after.”

Her expression changes from one of desire to one of disgust.

“Get out of here Lance.”

And he does.

Standing out there in the street, he knows that he has to find Keith before the boy disappeared for good.

* * *

He remembered that Keith had pressed the button for the fifteenth floor when they had first met in the elevator. That must be where the detective lives so Lance heads up there. 

He presses several doorbell only to be met with people who aren’t who he is looking for. On the seventh try, Shiro finally answers.

The detective looks Lance up and down and then smiles.

“Shall we go and get him?” 

* * *

 

The doorbell buzzes a little after midnight.

Keith is groggy and tired but he gets up from his position on the floor. He hears Shiro’s voice although he cannot make out what he is saying so he just remotely unlocks the door.

Within a few minutes, there is a knock so Keith goes to greet his friend. But it’s not Shiro there, it’s the beautiful one with blue eyes. 

Lance coughs when Keith pulls the door open because the is engulfed from the clouds of smoke from a hundred cigarettes.

Keith’s eyes widen as they see him and the door is closing again within seconds. Lance shoves his foot there to stop Keith from running away forever.

Keith glares.

“I don’t want to see you right now loverboy.” His voice is slurred and he leans in closer towards Lance as he says it.

“How much have you had to drink?” Lance questions, smelling the liquor on the breath of the boy.

“I’ll have you know that I’m an adult and I can have as much as I want.” He reaches forward and boops Lance on the nose, smiling to himself, “You’re very loud and obnoxious you know that? Very cute too.”

“You think I’m cute?”

“You only hear what you want to, don’t you?”

He opens the door slightly more and invites Lance inside. 

Lance gets a good look now of the disarray on the living room floor. Bottles and bottles of alcohol and an ashtray filled with cigarettes. 

Charcoal pencils lie down next to A3 drawings of intertwined bodies that cover the floor in a flurry of paper. So much for not liking art. Keith liked to keep his drawing private; it was always personal and the result of an emotional rage.

Lance observes the boy now. He’s wearing something different – a loose dark grey singlet and a different pair of distressed black jeans with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He has charcoal over his face and up his arms and his hair is sticking out at strange angles. 

Honestly he looks like a mess.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?” Lance asks.

“Are you telling me I’m dirty?” 

“You need sleep Keith, look at the state you’re in.”

“I am perfectly fine.” As he says it, he takes a step forward and stumbles.   
They head into the kitchen and Keith reaches for another bottle of liquor, bringing it towards his lips. Lance grabs the bottle from him before he can drink from it though and then tips it down the sink. They watch the brown liquid spiral down the drain.

“Is there any more?” 

“You’re no fun _dad_.”

Lance begins looking through the cupboards and tipping out what remains even though a majority of the bottles are empty. He goes to open a window but Keith stops him.

“Don’t, it’s too cold outside.” 

“It smells like shit in here.” 

“Well you have my permission to leave if you don’t like it.”

There stand there, close to each other. Keith sways slightly and Lance just wants to protect the boy who looks so innocent right now.

Keith goes in closer and closer, tipping his head towards Lance but before he can close the distance between the two, the brunette has moved out of his way. Keith’s lips brush the side of his cheek.

“You’re really drunk Keith, you don’t want to do anything that you’ll regret.”

“Fuck you and your stupid girlfriend.”  
He leans in against Lance’s chest and sighs.

“I could go to sleep right here.” Keith comments, “You are like a massive pillow. I could stay here in your arms.”

“Let’s get you to bed Keith.”

Although he doesn’t really want to head to bed now, Keith obliges and follows Lance towards the bedroom. He collapses on the bed when he gets there, curling up in the blankets. Finding it hard to keep his eyes open, the boy’s world flickers in and out of focus. Lance grabs an extra set of sheets.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch if that’s okay?”

“No.” Keith reaches out and grabs the brunette, pulling Lance towards him, “Stay here.”

Lance allows Keith to pull him down into the bed and wrap his arms around him. Keith cuddles up against the taller of the pair and kisses him goodnight on the forehead.

They fall asleep there in the comfort of the presence of the other.

* * *

 

The light of the morning was bright and Keith was squinting when he finally dragged himself out of bed.

Thumping, his head makes him groan in pain. How much did he have to drink last night? He could barely remember. Someone had come past at some point, but he couldn’t remember who – probably Shiro, not many other people knew where he lived.

The living room smelt like shit so Keith threw open a window. He really had to quit smoking. Often, he tried and for a couple of days he would manage just fine but then he needed something to make him feel alright and the cigarette was less harmful than the drugs he used to be on so he just smoked one of those. Or a pack. Often when he started he couldn’t stop no matter how gross it made him feel.

His art stuff was all over the floor. When he was drunk he always drew better and even now he noticed the study of people was more interesting and more powerful than it had been when he was drawing the other day. Charcoal sticks back into the tin, he tidies the floor just a little.

Keith needed water.

He fills up a glass in the kitchen and sighs at the pure relief it offers him. 

“Good morning!” the chirpy voice shocks him so much that he drops the glass onto the tiles and it shatters.

Cursing, he crouches down to begin picking up the pieces, placing them in his palm.

“Don’t touch that!” Lance says, bending down besides Keith, “You’re going to cut yourself.”  
It was a moment to late though, and already there is a drop swirling up from a nick on Keith’s finger. Lance inspects the cut

“It doesn’t look too serious.” He declares and Keith snorts.

“Did you learn that from your arts degree?”

“You’re not allowed to speak ‘Mr Art is bad but I still do it in my own time’.” Lance laughs as Keith blushes, “You’re really talented Keith. I don’t understand why you didn’t mention it earlier.”

“I don’t really like sharing things.”

“I’ve realised.” They both look down at Keith’s hand where the drops of blood are beginning to hit the floor, “Got any bandaids?”

“In the cupboard above the sink.” They take a moment to fix the finger up.

Lance decides it’s time to address the elephant in the room

“Keith about yesterday –“

“I’m sorry Lance.” Keith interrupts and Lance gets ready for another rejection, “I don’t know why I yelled at you like that. I normally don’t do that but something yesterday just ticked me off.”

“Keith there is no need to apologise –“

“And then you have your girlfriend and she’s probably beautiful and smart and funny and I’m not like that. And here I am ruining your relationship because I can’t even read basic social cues. Like what fucking idiot truly believes that he is lucky enough to be stuck in an elevator with the most beautiful guy he has ever seen and for that guy too be gay too. Like it doesn’t work like that and I didn’t think. I just acted and I’m sor-“

“I’m bi.” Lance interrupts, “So yeah maybe not gay, but I’m into guys as well as girls. And don’t even worry about the girlfriend. That’s over; it was actually over before it even begun.”

“You’re bi?”

“Yeah.” Lance looks Keith dead in the eyes, “I like you Keith. I wouldn’t have dared you to kiss me otherwise. You’re one of the worst people I’ve ever met but you’re so much more and I want to get to know you.”

“I’m one of the worst people you’ve met but you still like me?”

“Yes?”

“You know Lance, you really fucked up.”

“I know.”

“And broke my heart.”

“I’m sorry.”

“But if you want to, I’d love to spend some more time together – now before you interrupt, I’m not suggesting anything really fancy or like dating but maybe we can start as friends?”

“Friends? That sounds like a good start if friends can do this.” 

Lance leans in and kisses Keith. Keith, although surprised, allows Lance into his space and then there is a road of emotions between them and passion. It is as if electricity is flowing through his veins. He wants more of Lance, wants to curl his fingers into his hair and drink in the sight of him. 

Perfection.

The kiss ends too soon. Keith craves more and so he goes back in towards Lance.

“I guess we can be this sort of friend then.” Keith whispers just before their lips touch.

Lance chuckles.

This was going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this. Let me know what you thought - whether you loved it or hated it, I'm curious as to what you guys felt about this.  
> :)


	12. Infinity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue. I didn't want to ruin what I already wrote so it's not long. I liked the ending more than I realised.  
> This is still cute though so enjoy.

_Where they matches caught in a burning fury?_

_Or maybe they were stone statues carved in an eternal embrace?_

_Would they be as famous as Romeo and Juliet?_

_Die together like Bonnie and Clyde?_

_Maybe they were starcrossed lovers or soul mates; the sort of movie you saw on tv screens._

_They would probably be the sort of couple internet users would envy. You’d pass them on the street and wish that you could be that happy._

_You’d write stories about them and you'd pretend you knew them and what they had even though no one could truly understand._  
_But no matter how you saw them, to themselves they were just Keith and Lance; loverboy and mullet._

* * *

  
“No Lance, you hold it like this.” Keith adjusts his boyfriend’s grip on the pencil.

“And then I just draw?” The blue eyed one asks.

“Yep, you just draw.”

Keith starts his own piece and when he looks up again, Lance is staring at him blankly, pencil grip still wrong.

“And you just draw all those people from your head?”

“How else would I do it?”

“I don’t know, maybe you have people model for you or something.”

“Are you saying that you need a model?”

“Only if it’s you.” Lance winks and Keith laughs.

“Only if you promise to draw and not just stare.”

“Agreed.”  
Keith pulls himself to his feet, hands brushing over Lance’s shoulder as he passed by the boy and pulls of his shirt.

He laughs to himself. Who could ever have expected this?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And oh wow. There we are. The finality of this story is set in stone now. Whether you loved it or hated it, thanks for sticking with me for so long and reading it all. 
> 
> It feels strange to be done with this. A random idea formed one of the few stories that I've ever finished and I know it's incredibly short, but that's just all I can bring myself to write at the present time if we actually ever want an ending.
> 
> I'm going to take a step back from writing for about a week and then write a bit of a longer Klance fic. If you guys really want to see something specific, let me know.


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